Canadians doing fix n' flips in AZ (Phoenix, Apache Junction: bank owned, balloon payment)

[trix10]

Hi Everyone, does anyone know anything about doing fix n' flips in AZ? Buying homes in auctions, doing some reno and putting them back on the market? Info is appreciated. Thx.

[Bob's Burgers]

I think many people tried this before 2008 and lost a lot of money. Are people buying homes?

[Finger Laker]

i think it's a good way to lose a lot of loonies .... there are a lot of investment buys going on, but it seems like a lot are for rentals

houses are staying on the market way too long, there is actually some decent competition in the foreclosure market and when you look at the cost to acquire the property, cost to sell the property, cost to fix the property and cost to maintain the property while awaiting sale - it seems like the margins would get very slim, very fast .... especially if you are financing the original purchase

[Steve Pickering]

My Ex and her hubby are buying nearly new houses in the $60,000 each area around Eloy and renting them until the market improves. They are doing needed repairs and have already sold a couple in the $160,000 area. You have to have your own cash to purchase at that price though.

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by trix10

Hi Everyone, does anyone know anything about doing fix n' flips in AZ? Buying homes in auctions, doing some reno and putting them back on the market? Info is appreciated. Thx.

You must be Canadian! (I am too but have been in AZ a while). The market down here is NOTHING like Canada, especially the bigger cities in Canada. From up there you can hardly fathom the economy down here unless you are in it. I advise against it (I was a realtor in CAD for 18 years).

Buying and renting out is an idea but even then you are competing with all the forclosures and people who got stuck with too many houses etc. for tenants, and being so far away could make it harder (and pricier) to control things.

[Steve Pickering]

My Ex lives in Oregon and is having no problems.

[OurNextAdventure]

If there was anybody here to buy them, it would work. You can buy up all the houses you want, but the houses that are for sale around here for $50-80,000 are not in bad shape, the banks are just trying to get rid of them because they cannot afford to keep them. I am looking at a house right now sitting on 1 1/4 acres for $58,000, it sold for $300,000 in 2008. Nothing wrong with it, just foreclosure, and bank owned. The only thing is, it is way out west, nothing out there. Quite the commute if you work in Phoenix or area.

[Steve Pickering]

My sister has her $240,000 house up for sale at $120,000 in a good neighborhood in Apache Junction. She is the poster child for the housing bust. A 75/25 1st and 2nd, and a five year interest only with a balloon payment of $190,000. The Bank is allowing a short sale, but someone forgot to tell her she has to pay taxes on the difference between $240,000 and $120,000 and she will receive a 1099. She also has to pay the 2nd. I don’t know what she is going to do now.

[OurNextAdventure]

Man, I am sorry to hear that. My dad lost his house last year from the bust. I wonder what the suicide statistics are for the past 3 years?

[Finger Laker]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

My sister has her $240,000 house up for sale at $120,000 in a good neighborhood in Apache Junction. She is the poster child for the housing bust. A 75/25 1st and 2nd, and a five year interest only with a balloon payment of $190,000. The Bank is allowing a short sale, but someone forgot to tell her she has to pay taxes on the difference between $240,000 and $120,000 and she will receive a 1099. She also has to pay the 2nd. I don’t know what she is going to do now.

she may not have to ... she should talk to an attorney who has knowledge of real estate and taxes ....... the difference is not income, it's debt forgiveness which has different taxing regulations .... there is also a chance that most, if not all of it, may be deemed untaxable as there are a variety of qualifiers